The Church as a Resource: Case Study of a Transplant Patient ​​

Getting a liver transplant in the United States is hard. It takes some luck, significant fortitude, and ample resources--both financial and social. As a chaplain for liver transplant patients, I had many roles, one of which was working with families to help them understand the breadth of the resources that were required and to think creatively about what resources they had access to.

In this paper and presentation, I offer a case study in which the patient's church offered both financial and social resources in order to help him be listed for a liver transplant. The patient, DA, was a long-time hepatology patient, very compliant, and well-liked by the transplant team. But DA and his wife were poor, which led to concerns about follow-up care. As it became clear that their financial difficulties could end his chances of a liver transplant, I became more involved in DA's care.

Through an expanded version of DA's case, I will argue for an expanded definition of resources in the transplant community. While DA and his wife had few financial resources, they had more social resources than most patients. These resources are not interchangeable, but I propose a dynamic relationship between them such that the investment of a community, like a church, could be ethical grounds for listing a patient for transplant. Throughout the paper, I will highlight how the clinical and ethical roles of the chaplain intersect and how those roles could best be integrated into a medical team.